the observance of what the French call les bienséances. As an instance of this levity, I will mention a scene which I myself witnessed. At a crowded ball, at which I was lately present, a young duchess, who is considered as the most distinguished beauty of the place, ran from one room to another, followed by five gentlemen of different ages, each of whom, as he caught hold of the fair fugitive, either pinched her back or tickled her arm: and this indecorum passed off as a very harmless joke in the presence of two or three hundred persons *.

The ladies of Naples, like those of Rome, speak in a loud tone of voice, bordering on a scream; and the noise of an assembly is thence inconceivably great.

The Spanish ambassador, the marquis de Moss, is married to mademoiselle de Pinto, who was born in England, and is daughter of M. de Pinto, prime-minister of Portugal, and formerly long resident in London as envoy from his sovereign. At the house of this lady, who of course visits the first Neapolitan families,

* Since my return to England I mentioned this cir cumstance to a gentleman, who, before my arrival at Na ples, had passed a year there, and lived principally in the.. first circles of the nobility. He assures me that he saw a Neapolitan beau at a crowded ball tear the sleeve from the gown of this same duchess, who only laughed, and called him a ridiculous fellow.

and who has given several assemblies, f have had frequent opportunities of examining the manners of the higher classes: and at a ball, to which she had the goodness to invite us, we had a specimen of Spanish hospitality, and of the Spanish style of eating. At supper the ambassador could not be persuaded to take a seat, and went from table to table, to see that his guests were properly accommodated. The dishes of which the supper consisted, had various forms, but the greater part of them was made of pork dressed in different

manners.

His excellency lives in a spacious palace, and keeps a numerous retinue. Indeed his whole establishment is handsome, and becoming the high situation which he fills. You will be surprised when I add, if you entertain the ideas so prevalent in England of Spanish gravity (which ideas, I am assured by a friend who resided some time at Madrid, are entirely groundless), that at one of the public masquerades given at the opera-house during the carnival, the marquis de Moss appeared in the character of Nobody, with an immense head; and, thus disguised, wandered about the pit during the greater part of the night, accom panied by his lady in a similar dress. I ought to mention, that he is large in his person, and not less than fifty years old. I supped after

wards with him in his box; and, though he was much fatigued with his exertions and with the heat, he seemed to be much pleased with the feats of the evening.

Having now taken a cursory view of the climate, amusements, manners, court, and society at Naples, I shall in my next speak of those objects to which connoisseurs and classical travellers more particularly direct their attention.

I am, &c.

LETTER XXIII.

Curiosities in and near Naples---The Studio and Hercules Far nese---Capo di Monte---Royal palace of La Franca VillaCarthusian convent, and view from that situation---Fortress of San Elmo---Portici, and its museum---Manuscripts---An English clergyman sent by the prince of Wales to decipher the same at the expense of his royal highness---Ancient paintings found at Herculaneum and Pompeii ---Herculaneum + its history, discovery, and present appearance---Pompeii seen in open day: its contents---Excursion to the summit of Mount Vesuvius.

Naples, Feb. 26, 1803.

My dear sir,

THOUGH the number of churches at Naples is very great, and among them there are undoubtedly some which deserve the atten⇒ tion of strangers; yet, in consequence of the inferiority even of the finest here, to those at Rome, and of the much more interesting sights which the country around affords, it frequently happens that travelers devote their principal time to the environs, without paying more than a cursory visit to the curiosities of the town. This, I confess, has been the case with me; and, enjoying the delightful rides in this neighbourhood, the classical recollections which they excite, and the extraordinary views which they present, I have not been able to persuade my

self to exchange these fairy scenes for the gloomy aisles of mouldering churches; or to breathe the pestiferous air of cemeteries, when nature, clad in all her most alluring charms, invites me to wander on the shores of the Mediterranean.

For the churches of Naples, therefore, I must refer you to former travelers, if not already tired with the long accounts which I have sent you of those which adorn the other cities of Italy. I can talk of cathedrals, monuments, and altars, when they are the only things which claim my notice; but when I am to choose between these and picturesque scenery, dignified by having been honored by the presence of the most illustrious of the ancient Romans, I must be pardoned for paying much greater attention to the latter than to the former of these objects.

Among the most interesting sights within the city of Naples, the Studio ought first to be mentioned. Besides its library, which consists of a valuable assemblage of books, that occupy a splendid room of vast length, and a cabinet where some rare manuscripts are deposited, there is a fine collection of ancient statues, The most beautiful of these is the celebrated Hercules of Farnese, which has, I know not

*This far-famed statue, which was found in the therma of Caracalla, was long the ornament of the palace of the VOL. II.

C